No one can argue that there has long been a shortage of
skilled health workers to service regional areas of Australia. This is an issue
training providers, universities and governments alike have worked to address
over the years.
There are many reasons why there are shortages in regional
and remote Australia but a common explanation usually relates to difficulties
in luring health professionals away from larger cities and the lifestyles these
metropolitan centres can offer – especially to young people.
I have always said that those who study local, are more
likely to stay local and this couldn’t be more true when it comes to health
professionals. Students who leave their regional hometowns to study at metro
universities are less likely to return home after completing their studies and regional
universities find it harder to attract students from larger cities. If we can
do something to turn this around and encourage people to study at their regional
university or to relocate and study in a regional centre I think we can start
to fill this void.
This is why I congratulate the Federal Government on their
recent announcement to fund almost 300 additional places in postgraduate health
programs at CQUniversity.
The Government has recognised the need for highly trained
health professionals in regional Queensland and CQUniversity has demonstrated a
strong capacity to deliver educational pathways.
Students are the big winners because they will now have more
options to further their studies and become highly trained health professionals
upon completion. I hope this will go a long way in both encouraging people
(especially recent school leavers) to stay in Central Queensland to study and
luring students from the city to study with us.
The other big winner will of course be regional Queensland
communities who will benefit access to health professionals on their doorstep.
This is such a positive development not just for
CQUniversity but other regional universities, as this type of funding supports universities,
that are serving communities with the highest demand for skilled workers.
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